LATEST PRIMARY NUMBERS. Well, Ann, Rudy‘s gaffes may be catching up with him. According to a Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll released this afternoon, Giuliani trails Mitt Romney by 12 points, 16 to 28, among Iowa Republicans. He’s tied in Iowa with it-boy Fred Thompson. Romney also leads Giuliani in New Hampshire, 28-23. But this poll should be read as a momentary snapshot; 72 percent of Iowa Republicans and 50 percent of New Hampshire Republicans say they could change their mind before caucusing or voting.

Among Democrats, voters in both Iowa and New Hampshire say Barack Obama has the most “new ideas.” Yet Hillary commands a lead in both states: 28 percent to John Edwards‘ 25 and Obama’s 19 in Iowa; and 35 percent to Edwards’ and Obama’s 16 percent each in New Hampshire. And Democrats are more sure of their primary picks than Republicans; 59 percent of Iowa voters and 47 percent of New Hampshire voters say they could change their minds.

–Dana Goldstein

Dana Goldstein, a former associate editor and writer at the Prospect, comes from a family of public-school educators. She received the Spencer Fellowship in Education Journalism, a Schwarz Fellowship at the New America Foundation, and a Puffin Foundation Writing Fellowship at the Nation Institute. Her journalism is regularly featured in Slate, The Atlantic, The Nation, The Daily Beast, and other publications, and she is a staff writer at the Marshall Project.